Lots of chunky comics stories in here, of the sort that would never have found a home anywhere else, and by Grud they don't care if you like them or not! (Your mileage WILL vary)
Heavy Metal Dredd by various people
(20 episodes spanning Vol 1 issue 14 all the way to Vol 3 issue 33)
What was this? Well, at first, and then at last,
these were reprints of Judge Dredd strips from Rock Power magazine. They were
designed to be continuity-free single-story romps with as much sex, violence
and metal weirdness as Wagner/Grant and Simon Bisley could dream up. But there
weren’t all that many of those, so David Bishop (I assume?) commissioned plenty of new
examples for the Megazine itself, by various writers and artist, but very much
pushing the ‘how much nastiness – but in a funny way! – can we get away with' button.
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| What Metal fans want: EXTREME GOREY KILLS, and lots of 'em, please and thank you. Words by Wagner/Grant; Art by Bisley |
It's notable that the last few episodes, reprinted from the original Rock Power run, were once considered too controversial to print in the Megazine. Given that they were immediately followed by reprints of Preacher, this is hilarious. (Although actually I think it was more fear of getting sued by e.g. Todd McFarlane that was the main source of ‘controversy’).
Anyway, the actual stories range from fun to silly to
astonishingly gory (when Johns Smith and Hicklenton are at the
wheel). And the whole thing always felt like a huge part of the Megazine’s
identity as ‘you know, Judge Dredd comics – but naughty!’ thing. That said,
perhaps only the Johnny Biker story stands out as being at all memorable –
quite probably because it merited a cover – and none of them are in spitting
distance of ‘best one-off Dredd story’ territory. There’s a reason these have
been collected / reprinted in their own books, and not as part of the official
Judge Dredd Case Files.
Did they bring any readers from the Meg to Rock Power or
vice versa? No idea. But I do know I’d be up for seeing this series revived…
Dreddworld relevance? It’s Dredd alright, but not in a way that would impact continuity. Or, as far as I know, Dredd's own canon?
Writing: 6/10 Highly variable, but at best it is
actually funny; at worst it’s just childish
Art: 7/10 Again, the point here is not to wow readers, just to show them a
good (rude/bloody) time. It succeeds, but it’s also nobody’s best work, nor in
fact their most metal.
Impact: 5/10 I don’t suppose anyone was buying the Meg just to see these
rather obscure reprints, but they were a prominent feature and were, basically,
the go-to ‘one-off stories but set in Dredd’s world’ option for years after
‘Judge’ Edwina was sent to Resyk.
Overall score: 18 / 30
Has it been reprinted? It has, if you just want the Wagner/Grant/Bisley episodes! And then again, printing all of it! And in Hachette 73: Heavy Metal Dredd, too!
Blood of Satanus by Pat Mills, Duke Mighten and John
Hicklenton
(Megs 214-217 and 257-265)
What was this? Two decades-later follow-ups to a
Judge Dredd story Pat Mills wrote for 2000AD back in the late 70s. The one
where a dude accidentally drank the blood of Satanus, the dinosaur Dredd met in
the Cursed Earth. While that story focussed on the tragedy (comedy) of a man
who turns into a Dinosaur, the two much-later follow-ups are something else
entirely.
Technically, these are ‘Judge Dredd’ stories so they
oughtn’t count. But a) My blog my rules, and b) BoS III feels SO unlike any
Judge Dredd story that it makes more sense, I think, to treat it as a side
exploration of what a Judge Dredd story could be like in another dimension,
where Pat Mills’ way of seeing the world was considered mainstream…
Book II, which is excellent, is a comedy about a Mega City
Cult. It’s about people who not only strive to bring about a new man-Dino
transformation, its about how they believe Satanus is actually some kind of
Dark Lord and want to welcome this supernatural presence into their lives, and
indeed the city at large. There is a fair bit of slogan-shouting and stupid
people being stupid, and it’s hilarious.
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| If you're willing to meet Mills half way on Dredd, you'll be rewarded with great moments! Words by Mills; Art by Mighten |
Book III, which is widely despised, runs with the idea of cults and welcoming Hell to Mega City 1, rather at the expense of having much to do with Satanus and were-Dinosaurs which I think is a shame. That said, it’s also fascinating and I really think people should give it another go! The story ends up being about Joe Dredd being forced into the role of ‘Hero / Force for GOOD’ – which inherently doesn’t match the character in lots of ways – being pitted against a selection of demons from hell (including eventually a black tyrannosaur). There is a LARGE amount of slogan-shouting and people saying / doing things that don’t entirely make sense and it can be tricky to follow the story, and it’s a mix of annoying and weird.
Of course the star of the show in Book III is John
Hicklenton. Notoriously, by his own admission, he rushed some bits, and you get
some pretty shonky panels early on. But equally, this is John Hicklenton, and
when he’s not rushing it he delivers pure nightmare fuel, and some of the best
demon designs this side of Hellraiser I and 2. His version of Dredd is an old
man with taught, constantly flexed muscles, poured into a tight leather suit
with zips everywhere, and a scowl of discomfort / hatred aimed at everyone. It's
one of the better attempts to turn what must be a bizarre psyche into a piece
of visual expression.
Dreddworld relevance? I mean, it’s about Judge Dredd and set in Mega City 1, but Book III feels like it's from a totally different comic...
Writing: 7/10, which is an average of Book II’s 8.5 and Book
III’s 5.5
Art: 8/10, again an average across two stories but really it’s Hicklenton
on his own causing the variation.
Impact: 3/10 I’d say Book II is largely forgotten, while Book III is
remembered mostly as a failure. But it IS remembered.
Overall score: 18 / 30
Has it been reprinted? Not in one chunk, but Book II
is in Case Files 39, and Book III is in Case Files 45.
Red Razors by Mark Millar and Steve Yeowell
(Vol 1 Issues 8-15, plus a couple of one-offs in a Yearbook and a JD Mega
special)
What was this? An irritating misfire of an action series that has some awesome character designs and a theoretically cool set-up. Which is two-fold. 1) It's set in East Meg 2, and decades into the future of (then) Dredd continuity, when the world is still ruled by Judges but things have changed a bit. 2) In this particular future city, there’s a lot of insane gang activity, and the worst of the gang members have been brainwashed into being Judges. Honestly, it feels like there’s a lot you could do with that.
What Mark Millar does is make the main guy a hard bastard with a talking horse who gets some great hero moments and neat one-liners, all soaked in ultraviolence, and that’s very fitting for 1991 Judge Dredd the Megazine.
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| Ah yes, the early 90s, when bad guys were always lounging in hot tubs. Words by Millar; Art by Yeowell |
What Millar also does is marry it to a weird plot that is more interested in making references to 1960s things that were kind of fashionable in 1991 (Elvis; Scooby Doo), than in making any sort of coherent narrative or thematic sense. Blurgh. An early effort in a long line of ‘Gosh, Mark Millar knows how to write comics pretty well – wish he’d tell some good stories with them.’ The shame of it all is how much effort Yeowell puts into the character design and world building, including some lovely clean colouring work. I have fallen out of love with Yeowell in recent decades but his early work has an insanely beautiful vigour.
Dreddworld relevance?
Writing: 5 /10 No taking away from the craft of
Millar, but plenty of taking away from the humour and story.
Art: 8.5 / 10
Impact: 5/10 No getting away from the fact that this had a follow-up series
– in 2000AD, no less – and remains a series that people definitely remember, if
not fondly.
Overall score: 18.5 / 30
Has it been reprinted? It has! In an old Rebellion/DC trade, and in Hachette 59: Behind the Iron Curtain
Zancudo by Si Spurrier and Cam Kennedy
(Megs 233-236)
What was this? The one with a couple of Ciudad Barranquilla Judges mucking about in the jungle with giant insects and the cult of humans those insects control. It’s an action-horror-comedy I guess? It was all over very quickly, and in the usual Si Spurrier fashion had far more plot and character than you could comfortably fit into a small space, but that’s part of its charm. Also part of what makes it not the most easy read.
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| Spot the bad guy... Words by Spurrier; Art by Kennedy |
One of the main characters was a super-stereotype of Latino gangsters; an attempt to subvert this in the final panels does not do enough to excuse it, although it’s a minor complaint really.
Mostly this story is known for being a stealth Ant Wars sequel. Except it’s
barely that, it’s just another story featuring giant insects, in which the
giant ants are notionally ‘good’ where the other insects are evil, I think? Or
maybe I haven’t read Ant Wars recently enough to remember other more obvious
links. I can say for sure I’d rather read that pretty fun story again than re-read this only quite fun story.
Dreddworld relevance? Definitely set in the world of
Judge Dredd, vaguely touching in Ciudad Barranquilla, but otherwise has little
bearing. It’s more interested in being a crossover with the 2000AD strip Ant
Wars. Except, it’s not necessarily a direct follow-on, arguably it's just another story set
in South America that features giant insects?
Writing: 7/10 Panel to panel, there’s a lot of fun
going on here. The way the plot plays out is neat and tidy, and there are
effective character beats. But overall it gets messy trying to keep an eye on
which characters you want to follow and why, and what the whole thing is really
about…
Art: 7.5/10 Gonna get myself in trouble here, but I’m not the world’s
biggest Cam Kennedy fan. I mean, I recognise his greatness as a sci-fi action
artist, and those skills are put to the test here. But outside of many and various crazed Mega-Citizens,
I’ve never been that bowled over by his character designs. And this story is so
short, it needs you to really invest in the characters. In short, the art is
more than competent, but less than memorable.
Impact: 4/10 Ant Wars as a concept has yet to return again, but the idea of
reviving old 2000AD killer-animal stories sure has not gone away. And I think
this still counts as early work for Si Spurrier, who would go on to become
quite the prolific writer.
Overall score: 18.5/30
Has it been reprinted? It has! It's in the Ant Wars collection, and in Hachette 58: The World at Law
Maelstrom by Robbie Morrison and Colin MacNeil
(Vol 2 Issues 73-80)
What was this? Judges…in… SPACE! Before there was Insurrection, there was Maelstrom – a gruff tale of gritty hard-boiled space Judges flying around in menacing spaceships, and having trouble with a mutagenic monster. I think mostly because Colin MacNeil was drawing it, it felt like a proper story. But by gosh the story is a struggle to follow, and in fact MacNeil doesn’t do us any favours by having too many characters look a bit too similar for their own good. (I mean, they are all rough/tough space marines, often in armour, so what are ya gonna do?
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| Did you like that movie Aliens? I did! It had a cool setting. Words by Robbie Morrison; Art by MacNeil |
Anyway, the actual story about psychic people and people turning into lizard monsters and various bits of infighting are kind of fun, but it’s a big ol’ mess, this story. It's not bad, but needs careful reading and maybe isn't good enough to demand that level of attention.
Dreddworld relevance? It’s set in space, but in the world of Mega City Judges who are basically maintaining their colonial interests out there, not really touching on any core ideas.
Writing: 6/10 It’s too confusing, and the plot isn’t
all that great anyway.
Art: 8.5/10 Colin MacNeil by this point in his career knows exactly what
he’s doing, and can deliver moody, intense and exciting visuals with ease.
Impact: 4/10 Although this series was not followed up or much-remembered,
space Judges did have quite the comeback later on in the Meg’s future. MacNeil
and Morrison didn’t make out badly, neither.
Overall score: 18.5 / 30
Has it been reprinted? It has! In Extreme Edition 17, and in Hachette Mega Collection 76: Klegg Hai!
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